While it's unclear whether Congress will approve another continuing resolution or full-year funding for the Homeland Security Department after this Friday, DHS has made plans in case of a lapse in funding.

The effort to fund the Homeland Security Department is in chaos this afternoon. The House rejected a three-week continuing resolution after observers spent most of the day trying to figure out what the backup plan was -- without much success. Tom Shoop is Editor in Chief at Government Executive magazine. He broke down the odds of Congress passing a DHS budget on In Depth with Francis Rose.

The full Senate will likely vote on a bill that would fund the Homeland Security Department past Friday's deadline. It's unclear what moves the House will make next. But DHS is preparing for the worst. Chris Cummiskey was acting undersecretary for management at DHS during the government shutdown in 2013. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he told Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp what DHS managers are doing to prepare.

Stop us if you've heard this before. Congress, divided over policy, threatens to let funding lapse for federal agencies. That would cause furloughs for some, and working without pay for others. The last time it happened, federal employees had grounds for a lawsuit over violations of labor law. Could it happen again for Homeland Security employees? As part of this week's Legal Loop, Heidi Burakiewicz, a partner at the law firm Mehri & Skalet, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with some answers.

Greg Stanford and Katie Maddocks with the Federal Managers Association join host Mike Causey to discuss a proposed pay raise for feds, and Andy Medici with the Federal Times gives us an update on pending legislation in Congress that will affect federal workers.
February 25, 2015

A vote in the Senate could come as early as Thursday on a bill that would fund the Homeland Security Department beyond this Friday. If passed, the bill would still have to clear the House, before being sent to the President's desk. While Congress was busy making moves Wednesday, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson went on the offensive to ensure Congress doesn't shut down his department. 30,000 DHS workers would be sent home and the trickle-down effect on state and local governments and law enforcement organizations would worsen if Congress doesn't pass a bill, Johnson said.

The Veterans Affairs Department is requesting $20 million in fiscal 2016 to move its appeals processes from a mix of paper and electronic processes to only electronic. The additional funding is part of VA's $4.13 billion IT request to Congress.